[FM19] Ashton United

[KJG]

On 14/03/2019 at 16:35, Nobby_McDonald said:

Excellent youth intake. Shame the season petered out to pretty much nothing.

Aston Villa relegated to League One. Crikey.

It was a shame, we could never find a second goal scorer behind Wilson. I didn't notice that Villa had been relegated til you said so. 

Transfers

First are the outs and the only big name is Jose Gata. He had kicked up about wanting to leave during the season and he was played out of the squad so for $625k it was time to say goodbye. Matt Blake, Kallum Butt, and Aleksandar Nikolic leave on free transfer, they never played and had no future so why keep them. Besides that a bunch of youth players are out on loan.

Only two players come in with the addition of Lee Farrell and Giovanni Amadori. Farrell comes in for $230k, a cheaper and better option than Gata and someone that can help grow the squad in the next few years. Amadori was brought in on a free and will rotate with Classon at Lb, unfortunately he got injured before the start of the year and missed the first few matches.

League Preview

Of course the media thinks that we will finish bottom again, thankfully predictions do not always become reality.

August & September

We fixed the goals problem from last season, at the end of September we have a league high 29 while only conceeding 9. I've noticed that either we blitz oppenents from the start (Bury, Notts Forest, and QPR) or it takes us a little bit of time to get going. The Hull match had to be the most impressive, just from the fact that we went down 0-1 and were creating very little to making a few subs and turning it around in the space of 2 minutes threw Deco. Mark Wilson yet again leading the line with 7 goals but with contributions from Campanelli, Chibueze, Wilmot and Deco. The only losses to Charlton in the EFL Cup and Sheff Utd (frustrating match as we edged the stats but could not finish our chances).

League Table

After two months we sit top of the table, 4 points ahead of Derby and this might be, hopefully, the year we get promoted. The tactic has flipped the script from last season and we'll see if it continues.

Tactic

I've been watching Second Yellow Card's series on youtube and really liked his tactic so I thought we would give a try. Started using it towards the end of last season with mixed results but as the squad got more used to it the boys have really taken to the system and performing really well so far.

2026 World Cup

Thought y'all might like to see who to bet on in 2026. Suprised to see Serbia make it all the way to the final but ultimately lossed out to Italy.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Great start to the season.

[KJG]

On 18/03/2019 at 16:43, Nobby_McDonald said:

Great start to the season.

It is, the two losses sucked but you can't win every match.

October & November

Overall a good two months with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses. The losses to Ipswitch and Sunderland were entirely deserved, we just did not play well in those matches. Snatched a late equalizer against Preston to end November. The victories against Middlesbrough, Hudderfeild and Brentford are very impressive as they have all played in the Premier League in the last 3 or 4 seasons and still have alot of quality.

League Table

Still in 1st place but only by 7 points after the little blip in form. Maybe those victories are not as impressive with both Brenford and Middlesbrough are in the relegation zone. Still top the league in goals scored and one of the best defenses so far.

Squad Stats

Heres how the boys are doing so far this season. Mark Wilson leads the team in goals at 13 with only 8 for finishing. Campanelli having a very impressive campaign with 6 goals and 5 assist. Zubcic has been the best defender on the team and hopefully he gets a call up to Croatia. Paul Vaughan has appeared 20 times this season and has come along way since last season with lots of potential still to fill.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Little Ashton are on their way to the Premier League...

[KJG]

December & January

Not a good start to December with the losses to Leeds and Swansea, but bounced back with back-to-bck victories against Millwall and Bury (Wilson scoring 6 goals in the two matches), and finally a draw at Hull to end the month. Beat Notts County to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup against Arsenal and got a suprising draw at home. The loss to Luton and draw against Charlton hurt because they are both in a relagation fight right now. Big win against Blackburn who sit fifth in the league.

League Table

Still seven points ahead of Hull in first, have a huge match against Derby in the beginning of Febuary that may decide promotion. The battle for the playoffs is very intense this year with Bristol City in 13th only seven points off of Derby in 3rd. There was no moves done again in the January, other than Will Swan leaving for Vancouver because he was not playing.

[coady]

Looks like you're definitely Premier league bound now. Hopefully that result is enough to help keep Luton up without harming your title push! 

Edited March 31, 2019 by coady

[Nobby_McDonald]

Take Stoke and Bury up with you.

[KJG]

Sorry for not updating for awhile, school has gotten very busy at the moment

February & March

Very good February with four wins and one loss in the league, looked unbeatable on our day. Then March came with four straight draws to clubs all over the table and a loss to Bristol City to end the period. Don't know what happened, we had the same amount of oppurtunities but just couldn't put the ball in the net.

 

League Table

Still in first but our lead is shrinking, now just 5 points ahead of Blackburn but 12 point ahead of Hull in 3rd. Sorry Coady and Nobby I'm trying to help them but they just don't want to get promoted right now.

Youth Intake

Not as good as last years but still decent. The only is that the best prospect, Lloyd, is a center back a position we already have good youth in.

[KJG]

April & May

Very average last two months of the season started with two losses and a draw but managed to win two of the last three to end the year. The thrashing of Millwall was a welcome sight after the struggles towards the end. Even though we did enough to gain promotion, Blackburn was nipping at our heels and making a real race out of it. Did we do enough?

League Table

Barely champions, Blackburn really turned up the performances at the end but we did enough to squeak through. The playoff battle was really competitive this year with two points separating 4th and 9th. It would be a battle between Swansea, Hull, Stoke, and Bristol City for the final Premier League spot.

Playoffs

Bristol City who barely made the playoffs are up. The Stoke vs Hull tie was crazy, with Stoke up 2-1 after the first leg. That's it for the year, I forgot to screenshot the stats but I know that Mark Wilson lead the team with over 30 goals.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Very well done. Time to battle your mighty near neighbours now.

[KJG]

On 06/05/2019 at 15:57, Nobby_McDonald said:

Very well done. Time to battle your mighty near neighbours now.

Thanks and mighty they are.

Transfers

Very busy transfer window with six players coming, eight out on loan, and a lot of (mainly youth) players released. I was given a little over $30 million to spend this window and with a couple of positions that needed to be improved, I tried my best.

Brought in Erick Pulgar on a free, he's a better option than Vaughan but is on the wrong side of 30 and will probably only be here for two seasons. Pelayo Suarez in for $1.7m is a little better than Gard and will allow me to rotate the three center backs. Jayden Bogle was bought for $5m is just so much better than Phillips and so far has been a bargain with performances at right back. Darren Civezlis for $4.3m to take over on the right wing as we transition into the Premier League but has struggled to start the season. The young Serbian central midfielder Zoran Stevic in for a cheap $2.7m will hopefully be a dynamo for years to come. Finally, the big money signing in the form of $13m wonderkid Pachola, even though we don't play an AMC he has the attributes to be an inside forward on the left side.

Lastly is Dejan Gospavic the 17-year-old left back who joins in January and will compete for the starting role right away.

League Preview

Unsurprisingly predicted to finish in the league but the journalist in this game are always wrong.

August & September

Pretty good start to life in the top flight besides the 5-0 demolition job by Man Utd, who have Sancho and Mbappe to lead the line with a world-class newgen. Surprising results against Man City and Liverpool with their big money players. Disappointed with the West Ham result as we were in it throughout the match and should have come away with at least a point.

Yes, Lewis Wilmot is still, yes he still plays for us, and yes he can still score goals.

League Table

Through two months we sit in 15th place with 8 points. The lack of goals from forwards is worrying and could signal the need for a signing in January. 

[KJG]

October & November

Undefeated over the last two months with two wins and five draws. Good wins against Blackburn and Leicester. The match versus Brighton was boring, then came the bottle jobs. Up 2-0 going into the 80th minute, then gave up two goals. Down 2-1 to Bournemouth and managed to snatch a draw with Wilmot's late equalizer. Then being up 2-0 at the half to Man City before throwing it away in the first 15 minutes of the half and battened down the hatches to not concede another. Overall a good two months that could have been better. Skipped the Chelsea match because I thought we would lose but come out with a win due to penalties.

League Table

Those results have seen us shoot up to 10th in the table through 14 matches. Was supposed to open the season against Southampton but they had to go through Europa League qualifying that messed up a few schedules.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Great start to life with the big boys.

[KJG]

On 13/05/2019 at 15:57, Nobby_McDonald said:

Great start to life with the big boys.

Thanks, it has been hard lately though.

December & January

Only two wins in December and January, the losses outside of the big 6 hurt because those are matches that we need to get results in. Out of both the F.A. Cup and EFL Cup which ends our chance for silverware. The draw against Chelsea was a heroic defensive effort being outshot 21 to 2. It would be nice if a striker would consistently find the net but Mark Wilson looks hapless and Deco is in a drought right now.

League Table

After a terrible last two months, we now sit in 13th place but only 3 points above the relegation zone. It is very tight at the top with four within 3 points of each other for the title.

Transfers

Two players come into the squad in January with Gospavic being agreed on in the summer. Alen Valkovic is a box to box cm who immediately slots into the starting xi alongside Stevic. He has loads of potential and is already a Premier League player at 19 yo. Goncalves moved to AFC Wimbledon for $195k because his contract was running out and he no longer had a spot in the squad.

[KJG]

February & March

Started out February well with a 5-1 demolition job against Southampton and a 2-0 win against Wolves but the lack of consistent goal scoring from strikers continues to hurt us. The 2-2 draw with Liverpool pissed me off because we were up 1-0, cruising, then a back pass from Gospavic to Blaney in which he just allows Christian Pulisic to take off him and score. This hurts Gospavic's rating and confidence which causes him to be easily beat on their second before Wilson scored the equalizer late. We were poor the next matches against Brighton, Bristol City, Blackburn, and Bournemouth and fully deserved those results. The 2-0 lose to Tottenham should have been far worse as they outshot us 31 to 5, and those 5 shots came in the second half and were nowhere near being a goal.

League Table

Through March we sit in 10th place on 37 points and 8 points above relegation with 6 games to go. We're in a good spot considering the lack of quality in the side coming into the season and the limited resources to spend in the transfer market.

Youth Intake

An okay youth intake with the best being David Meleka, a goalkeeper with some good attributes for 15 yo. Hopefully he can grow taller in the next few years and improve on his first touch. Sam Johnson has the right attributes to be an AP but is way too short to be of use. Don't think Ash Worrall is very good and have no clue what to train him as in the midfield. Rob O'Hanlon has a good base for an RB and could grow into a nice squad player in the future.

[KJG]

April & May

Good last two months of the season with victories over Leicester, Man City, Arsenal, West Brom, and Newcastle. The loss to Everton is partly due to playing some youngsters. Pachola found his goal scoring touch with four goals in a three-game span. Mark Wilson scored what is probably his final goal for the club as he was relegated to the bench due to inconsistent goal scoring.

League Table

Finished the season in ninth place, a new high for the club, with 52 points, 50 goals scored, 53 goals conceded, and a -3 goal difference. Very unexpected due to the lack of depth and quality in defence and striker.

Finances

I think we have some money now.

Squad Stats

Pachola and Zoran Stevic really made the difference this season with 13 and 7 goals, and 6 and 7 assist respectively. Gospavic started every game after his transfer to the club and is already a good Premier League player at 18. Gard and Suarez rotated at center back to pair with Zubcic. Bogle and Blaney started every Premier League game this year. Pulgar was a good DM for us this year but will not be back next year mainly due to his age. I will look to sell Campanelli, Wilson, and Amadori as their just not good enough for this level. Farrell and Boyce may be on the way out just depends on the right offer coming in. Lastly, this will be Lewis Wilmot's last year at the club, while a faithful servant, I just can't justify keeping him in the squad.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Excellent season.

[KJG]

On 20/05/2019 at 16:07, Nobby_McDonald said:

Excellent season.

Thanks, we overachieved massively.

Ten Season Review

I thought that now would be a good point to look back at what has happened in all the big competitions so far.

League Competitions

There are some surprises out there with the likes of RB Leipzig, Athletico Madrid, and Liverpool winning at least one league title.  Unsurprisingly PSG and Bayern Munich are dominating their leagues but the Premier League is a constant battle like in real life and Milan has wrestled Serie A supremacy from Juventus. 

Champions League & Europa League

First Champions League with Juventus winning the first edition in the game, followed Real Madrid, Man Utd. winning 3 titles, Liverpool won 3 titles, Man City finally got their trophy, and lastly Milan winning the latest edition. The Europa League has nine different winners including Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG, Schalke, and Sporting.

International Competitions

The Euros have seen the Iberian Penisula win both competitions with Spain being in both finals. The UEFA Nations League has seen everyone but Spain and Germany win it. Finally, the World Cup which has seen The Netherlands defeat Argentina and Italy beat a surprising Serbia in the biggest competition in sports.

 

[KJG]

Transfers

Lots of business this offseason with 8 players coming in and 9 players leaving. Joel Ball is the first to leave, this was agreed to two years ago and I had no input because it was too good to pass by.  Sam Johnson from last years youth intake is gone mainly due to his height. Couldn't pass up the $6.5m for Campanelli as he never really adjusted to the top flight last year. McLaughlin and Osman leave on frees. Mark Wilson is gone for $18.5m, potentially $22.5m, due in part to an inability to score and his wages. Mario Silva for $500k, he wasn't playing enough to justify his wages. Giovanni Amadori leaves for $6m because he didn't play after Gospavic came in. Steve Phillips for $725k, he kept complaining about his contract and playing time.

Marcos Vinicius was agreed to come in this past January, a good DM with a lot of potential and worth a flyer for $550k. Filip Gomboc comes in for $350k, he's got good attributes where he needs them just has to improve his mentals. Jose Luis Luna is a Mexican AMR, originally signed as a backup but with Dill coming I will look to loan him out this season. Mario Dill, the 6'4" German wonderkid that fell in my lap, he wanted out at Bayer Leverkusen and will split time on the right wing this year. The biggest outlay of the summer is Hermel Rios, a very good CB who will anchor the defense for years to come. Trevin Williams was brought in to backup Bogle. Eridson Cande was brought in to learn the inside forward role for AML and backup Pachola. Rodrigo Mena for $800k and will start at the DM and could be a steal if he continues to develop.

Preseason

Average preseason, mainly about fitness.

New Stadium

Finally got a new stadium that I had been asking for years for. 24,105 capacity for only $40m, hopefully its good value for money.

[KJG]

August & September

Good start to the year with three straight wins, then sh*t hit the fan a little with only one win in six league matches. Victories against Burnley and Wolves see us advance to the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

League Table

That sees us into eighth place in the league after two months, we need to create and finish more chances but defensively we're alright.

Stupid Stevic

He's done this twice this season, I just don't get it. I fined him a week's wages the first time and he was upset, then warned him the second time and he was still upset.

[KJG]

October & November

Pretty good results over the last two months with two big wins over Watford and Bristol City, four draws (two with Liverpool and Man City), and the loss to Everton that wasn't as close as the score suggest. There is also the win over Oxford United in the FA Cup. The bad news from this time period is that yet again Stevic missed a game because he was at the pub (this time the Liverpool match) and was upset that I treated him "unfairly" and demand to be transfer listed.

League Table

We move down one spot to 9th in the table, 15 points behind Tottenham in first and 9 points ahead of Bristol City in 18th.

Edited May 27, 2019 by KJG

[Nobby_McDonald]

Going well again.

[KJG]

20 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Going well again.

Better than expected but still not close to competing with the big 6.

Transfers

As you can see there were some additions and subtractions in January. Tornike Chedia is a young center back that was agreed to last season. Deco and Pelayo Suarez were sold because they became surplus to requirements. Suarez's contract was ending in the summer and was not going to be resigned, so we decided to cash in on him. I've come to realize that Deco's is more of a Championship striker and could not pass up $20m for him.

Heres Chedia, he's got some nice attributes so if he makes the squad in the future, if not then he can be sold for a decent profit. 

Nicolas Cisternas is a Chilean CB who immediately slots in beside Rios. He's got great physical and mental attributes for a center back, and while his heading, marking, and tackling could improve a little bit, Cisternas is instantly our best defender.

Ethan Crawford is a striker signed from Wolves for our biggest outlay ever. Maybe I overpaid for him, but we just needed someone up top that can consistently score goals and think Ethan can be that man.

December & January

The beginning of December was fun, playing Arsenal twice, then United, and finally Chelsea is a great way for players to lose morale. Bounced back against West Brom before a lackluster performance away at West Ham. Then came a string of 6 victories, two in the FA Cup and four in the league. Then a horrible defeat to Tottenham, a game that was tied 1-1 at the half before Spurs decided to get serious for the second half. These performances came as a direct result of a change in tactic.

We're now playing a formation that probably wouldn't work in real life but its FM so of course it does. Moved one of the CMs to AMC, changed the other CM to a DLP. Offset the DM to the right to give a little balance. Changed the striker to a DLF on attack to get him more involved in play. Finally changed the LW from an IF to a winger.

League Table

A great January sees us into 8th place, just behind Everton. It's safe to assume that we're going to stay up this year, hopefully we can nab a Europa League spot.

[KJG]

February & March

Very good two months with four wins and two losses in the league. A disappointing loss to Watford where we just didn't show up, then couple that with the win against Liverpool a week later makes it that much worse. Made it all the way to the semi-final of the FA Cup, only to lose on penalties to Norwich.

League Table

We sit in 6th place on 51 points, almost eclipsing last years point total. Unfortunately, we won't be there for long with Arsenal, Everton, and Liverpool with games in hand, and with matches against Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, and Man Utd to end the season.

Youth Intake

Not much to see here.

[KJG]

April & May

Ya, that's not good, the loss to Newcastle really pissed off as we could not give a **** that night. Losses to Arsenal, Everton, and Chelsea, the draw to Man Utd didn't matter for either team. The win against relegated Bristol City kind of felt good. Just an overall terrible end to the season.

League Table

The season ends with us in eighth place on 55 points. Tottenham ran away with the league with Man City making it look closer than it was. Man Utd finally fired Mourinho. Liverpool lost the FA Cup final to Norwich to miss out on the Europa League.

End of Season

Pachola and Dill lead the line with 14 and 11 goals each, Dill was on fire after the new year easily being the player of the year. Cisternas, Rios, and Gospavic have proved that they can anchor the defense for years to come. Mena might be underrated because he acted as the perfect shield for the defense. 

[KJG]

Transfers

Three guys sold in the summer in Zoran Stevic, Jayden Bogle, and Darren Civzelis. Finally found a club willing to pay a reasonable amount for Stevic in Roma, he had been wanting to leave due to discipline issues and I had finally had enough. Bogle leaves for West Brom, we brought in a new right-back and he was on too much money for a backup. Darren Civzelis goes to Motherwell for $11.25m, became a backup last season and was on the final year of his contract so it was best to cash in.

Five players in this summer in Gerrit Rump, Gilberto Monteiro, Samuel Guedes, Costin Subtirica, and Radim Duda. Rump a left winger from Germany and Monteiro a left winger from Portugal will rotate on that left side. Guedes a CM from Portugal will backup Valkovic and start early cup matches. Subtirica a goalkeeper from Romania will backup Blaney and start early cup matches. Radim Duda, the biggest outlay of the summer at $21m, is a right-back who will immediately start to form the back four with Gospavic, Rois, and Cisternas.

Preseason

Nice preseason against subpar competition.

Preseason Prediction

WE'RE NOT LAST!!!!!!!! I think the journalists have underrated us this year as we bring the majority of the squad and really improved some key positions in the summer.

[KJG]

Rios is gone to Sporting after they triggered a release clause for $21.5m. This sucks.

[Nobby_McDonald]

8th is another very good season. Keep plugging away and you might be competing with the big six (or seven if you count Everton too).

[KJG]

On 03/06/2019 at 15:55, Nobby_McDonald said:

8th is another very good season. Keep plugging away and you might be competing with the big six (or seven if you count Everton too).

Thanks hopefully, we can get into Europe this year.

August & September

Pretty good start to the season with four wins, a draw, and a loss in the league. Through to the fourth round of the EFL Cup after wins against Hereford and Bristol City.

League Table

Leaves us in sixth place in the league on 13 points. 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Ipswich are enjoying a renaissance.

[DavidBeckham]

Fantastic start to the season! Duda looks like a fantastic right-back already and I'm looking forward to see how he develops for you

[KJG]

21 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Ipswich are enjoying a renaissance.

Not anymore, seeing as they haven't gotten a point in the last two months.

15 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Fantastic start to the season! Duda looks like a fantastic right-back already and I'm looking forward to see how he develops for you

Unfortunately he lost his wonderkid discription but is still young and has alot of room to grow, and has done great so far.

October & November

Mixed period with three wins, two draws, and two losses. A good draw against Man Utd after a poor performance versus West Ham. We destroyed Crystal Palace 5-1 in the EFL Cup to move on to the quarter finals.

League Table

We sit in 6th place on 24 points behid a suprising Brighton who have one of the best defenses in the league. While Liverpool maybe flying high in real life, in this save they are struggling in 16th almost half way through the season. 

[KJG]

Transfer

Just the one transfer in William Gustavo, a Brazilian goalkeeper, for $77k. Mainly just because he's a young keeper with tons of potential for a cheap price.

December & January

Mixed December followed by a great January. We're through to the final of the EFL Cup against Man Utd. after victories against Everton and Brighton, and the fifth round of the FA Cup after beating Rotherham and Cardiff. December saw us go 3-1-3, the draw against Liverpool was a missed opportunity given their poor shownings in the league but the loss to Wolves was particularly disappointing after we dominated them in the match. January was a much better month going 2-1-1 with the cup success, the loss to Tottenham is just whatever because their so much better than everyone else.

League Table

We are in 7th with 41 points, tied with Everton. Have watchout for Chelsea as they are starting to make a push in the league.

[SiAloha2019]

liverpool *yikes*

10 seasons in and finally in the prem and aren't regulated 1st season in. BIGGEST achievement.

11th and currently 12th seasons in and they are climbing to the top. 

This is my expectation of carrying ashton utd. If i actually play, i'd be sacked cuz im terrible lol.

 

Of all the 6 promoted teams to the vanarama conference league, i'd choose Ashton utd to manage. I'm glad you did this.

Edited June 23, 2019 by SiAloha2019

[KJG]

EFL Cup Final

After a back and forth final, where Dill, Monteiro, and Cande came off due to injuries, a 91st minute winner from Crawford sends us to Europe for the first time ever.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Little Ashton in Europe, Liverpool having a shocker and Blackburn doing a Derby. FM can be a strange world sometimes.

[KJG]

On 24/06/2019 at 15:25, Nobby_McDonald said:

Little Ashton in Europe, Liverpool having a shocker and Blackburn doing a Derby. FM can be a strange world sometimes.

Ya Blackburn are terrible, and Liverpool are just old I mean Alisson is still in goal for them.

February and March

Good two months with an almost perfect month in February with wins against Newcastle, Bournemouth, and Chelsea, and a draw versus West Ham. Lost to Brighton in the FA Cup with highly rotated squad due to fixture congestion. March saw two wins and two draws.

League Table

59 points from 32 matches this campaign, we already have a new high in points and goals scored.

Youth Intake

Ok intake with Kyle Pemberton being the only standout, while Matthew McCaughan might make it. Two Serbs and a Korean in this intake from our affiliates.

Right now Pemberton looks a better winger than striker but good physicals and a nice lauching point on his techincal and mental attributes. If McCaughan ever makes it to the first team, we might have him take free kicks and penalties.

[KJG]

April & May

Almost perfect April with the draw to Liverpool being the only belimish combined with wins over Arsenal, Southampton, and Blackburn, where Mario Dill scored four goals. May saw two defeats to Watford and Man City to end the year.

League Table

We finsh the year in 5th place tied on points with Brighton, who had an incredible defense and won a ton of 1-0 matches, on 69 points. Tottenham won the league again followed by Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs. Liverpool finish in 12th after a terrible season and Blackburn can only gain 10 points.

End of Season

Yes, I know, I'm great.

Mario Dill wins player of the season and young player of the season in an incredible campaign. Monteiro is the signing of the season, it was between him and Duda. Good performances in the league and EFL Cup but disappointing reasult in the FA Cup. Averaged almost 16,000 in attendence, something that will improve with a new staduim being opened next season. 

Squad Stats

Mario Dill made 42 apperances scoring 15 goals with 14 assists from the right wing. Cande took over the starting role midway through the season, scoring 23 goals to lead the team. Crawford with 16 goals in a nice season for him. Blaney still holds on to the goalkeeping position but not for long as Subtrinca should start to overtake him soon. Looking ahead we need another AMR, AMC, AML, and DC mainly for fitness reasons as a few players started to feel jaded this year. Will try to move Gomboc because theres no place for him in the squad.

[SiAloha2019]

yay finished 12th season. Just a few more seasons and you'll definitely win the league. 

Also, that formation tho.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Blackburn made double figures.

[KJG]

On 01/07/2019 at 15:15, Nobby_McDonald said:

Blackburn made double figures.

According to the game they tied for the lowest point total and have most losses in league history.

Transfers

Only player to leave for money is Nathan Willams, a goalkeeper, for $750k. Most of the players brought in are backups and young players.

Preseason

Good enough preseason, we beat Barcelona if that means anything.

Preseason Prediction

We're not predicted to be relagated for once.

[SiAloha2019]

Yes, the start of 13th season. Hopefully there is a chance the club will start focusing on qualifying for UEFA Champions League. lol

[KJG]

10 hours ago, SiAloha2019 said:

Yes, the start of 13th season. Hopefully there is a chance the club will start focusing on qualifying for UEFA Champions League. lol

They're a tough group to crack and with us being in Europa League its going to be hard but we'll give it a try.

August & September

Great start to the season with only one loss so far. Won an incredible back and forth match against Liverpool, combined with a superb match by Dill versus Stoke we were flying. Then Dill got shin splints in that match that will keep him out for two months, so now we're missing two starters with Valkovic picking up an injury before the start of the season. Fustrating matches against Ipswich and Chelsea, a game in which Chelsea scored on their first three shots on target. A late goal against RB Salzburg saw us on top in a match that we dominated. The kids came through with an emphatic result against Southend with Eduardo Torres scoring a hat trick in his first appearance.

League Table

We sit in 5th on 16 points but the top four have not lost a match, with Tottenham going a perfect 7 for 7 with 20 goals scored to 0 conceded.

Europa League

We sit top of the group after one match. Kind of a mixed group with Ajax who could be tough but with teams like Salzburg and Viitorul that should be beaten.

[ashton321]

Looking good so far this season 

[KJG]

October & November

An okay October that started off with an uninspired draw against Ajax, followed by a 1-0 win versus Bournemouth off a stunning Volkovic free kick. Then came an incredible comeback against Totenham, down 2-0 after 24 minutes and some tactical changes, we managed to pull two back for the draw. Fustrated with Man Utd reasult as we were the better team on the night and Crawford was a foot away from the goal line with a tap in, only for the defender to tackle it away. A perfect November was started with a late comeback against Southampton and beating ten-men Arsenal.

League Table

Through 13 matches we sit in 4th place on 29 points. It seems that none of the top 5 want to drop points this season and we will have to be as close to perfect to qualify for Champions League.

Europa League

With one match remaining in the group we sit at the top with 4 wins and 1 draw. The depth of the squad has come up huge in all campaigns with some players performing better than I expected.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Coping very well so far.

[KJG]

On 15/07/2019 at 15:40, Nobby_McDonald said:

Coping very well so far.

Yes, yes we are, you'll see later

This update will be dealing with transfers, awards, and the like. The December and January period is filled with matches and took a couple of days away from the game.

Awards

Mario Dill wins the Kopa Trophy for the best young player in the world.

Eridson Cande won both CAF Young Player of the Year, African Footballer of the Year, and was named to the African XI of the Year.

Transfers

We brought in 7 players in the January, all young players of which only two are registered for the Premier League.

Only Matek and Acuna are registered for the league, the rest will be in the youth teams and hopefully go on loan next season.

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by KJG

[KJG]

Transfers Out

Two outs in the January, with Rump going to Crystal Palace for $6.5m after he complained about a lack of playing time. Marcos Vinicius leaves for Aston Villa for $1.6m plus add-ons, suffered an injury last season and never recovered. Few youngster also left on loan this month.

December & January

Fantastic two months going undefeated in the league and the only loss being to West Ham in the FA Cup. Lots of rotation over this period and the boys step up to the challenge. With the additions in January, I feel that we are the deepest we've ever been. Through to the EFL Cup final for the second year in a row, this time against Brighton.

Premeir League

We catapult to third now, sandwitched between the two Manchester clubs. I'm just hoping for Champions League next season, so anywhere 1 through 4 is acceptable.

Europa League

The one match over this period, a win against Ajax, confirm the group win. This sets up a tie against Celtic. 

Player Updates

Just wanted to post some update shots of our longer serving players at the club. There will be more over the next few posts.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Looking great for the Champions League next season.

[KJG]

On 29/07/2019 at 15:34, Nobby_McDonald said:

Looking great for the Champions League next season.

Yes but we've had to rotate more than ever and are starting to grind some matches out now.

 

First off I want to apologize for the lack of updates lately. My grandmother passed recently and was finishing my final class for my bachelors degree, so FM was the last thing on my mind.

February & March

So so in the league with wins against Leicester, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace (after going down to 10 men early), a bad draw at home to Southampton, and some heart breaking losses to Chelsea, Man Utd, and Tottenham. Beat Brighton to win our second straight EFL Cup trophy, and are through to the quarter finals against CSKA Moscow.

League Table

Nine points ahead of Arsenal, six back of United which means that with seven games to go we will most likely finish fourth. Great season so far, the best of the save with all the different competitions we're in now.

Youth Intake

Best youth intake we've had since being in the Premier League, unfortunately in positions that we are deepest in.